2010 Media Releases

Date:

November 10, 2010

For More Information Contact:

Diane Gonzolas, Citizen Information Center, 402-441-7831

JPA Affirms Mayor's Selection Of Arena Builder

The West Haymarket Joint Public Agency (JPA) today affirmed Mayor Chris Beutler's selection of the Mortenson Construction-Hampton Enterprises team to build the new Lincoln Haymarket Arena. Hampton is a longtime Lincoln builder and developer. Mortenson, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has built more than 100 major sports projects, including the new arena in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.

Four companies submitted proposals, and Beutler chose the Mortenson-Hampton team after a review by an 11-member selection committee. City Council Member Jayne Snyder and University of Nebraska Regent Tim Clare, who serve with Beutler on the three-member JPA, voted to affirm the selection at an emergency meeting this afternoon.

As the construction manager at risk, Mortenson-Hampton will oversee the arena construction. Its initial cost estimate for its work is $8 million, but the terms of the contract will be negotiated in phases as the project is designed. Under the construction manager at risk approach, the chosen firm guarantees a price to build the project, and if the final costs are higher, the firm pays the difference. The firm also could earn a percentage of the project's cost, excluding design and engineering.

The selection committee (listed at the end of this release) interviewed all four potential builders. The scoring process resulted in a virtual tie between Mortenson-Hampton and a team comprised of Turner Construction of New York and Sampson Construction of Lincoln. The other two firms submitting proposals were Kiewit of Omaha and a team comprised of Hunt Construction of Arizona and Weitz Construction, which has a Lincoln office. Mayor Beutler said all four submissions were "comprehensive and impressive." All four proposals are available on the City website, lincoln.ne.gov.

"This is one of the biggest decisions we will make on one of the most important projects in Lincoln history," Mayor Beutler said. "I want to thank the selection committee for its careful deliberation. It was a very difficult decision, but I made my selection based on two factors. The initial cost estimate from Mortenson and Hampton was the lowest of the four. And I am very impressed with Mortenson's experience in working with railroads, which is very important for our project."

"We are honored to be selected for this monumental project for Lincoln," said Bob Caldwell, President and CEO of Hampton Enterprises. "With our 62-year history in Lincoln and Mortenson's expertise in building arenas, we are very confident in our ability to complete this project on time and on budget. We look forward to working with local subcontractors to build a facility that will serve Lincoln for many years."

More information on Hampton Enterprises is available at hampton1.com. More information on Mortenson is available at mortenson.com.

Selection Committee for Construction Manager at Risk:

Chair - Greg MacLean, Director, City Public Works and Utilities Department

Marc Boehm - Executive Associate Athletic Director, UNL

Gene Carroll, City Council Member

Roger Figard, City Engineer, Public Works and Utilities Department

Don Herz, City Finance Director

Jim Martin, Arena Program Manager, Benham Companies

Dan Marvin, West Haymarket Project Administrator

Vince Mejer, City Purchasing Agent

Dan Muhleisen, Engineer, 2015 Vision

Trish Owen, Deputy Chief of Staff, Mayor's Office

Linda Wilson, former City Council Member, member of Public Building Commission